Disclaimer: The author of the fanfiction (babbler) does not, in any way, profit from the story and that all creative rights to the characters belong to their original creator.

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Lights blinked across Fate's face as she used her device in the tiny cramped office. I'm going to have to wait a week to try and find Nanoha again. I hope she's okay. She tried not to think about the lump in her throat…or that clawing feeling at her heart.

There's no mention at all of Nanoha in the newspaper archives…I'll probably have to go to Tokyo and work with microfiche; many of the newspapers don't have electronic archives yet. It felt like something was poking needles into her from inside her skull.

She closed her eyes for a second…

After Nanoha's blast during the team battle, she had suddenly found herself hovering about the base in Mid Childia…and her clothes were torn from the battle, but she wasn't thinking about that just yet.

"Bardiche…what just happened?" she asked looking down over the town she had just left just a few days earlier.

"You appear to have teleported from the team battle to TSAB sir."

"…how?"

"Findings are not forthcoming." Bardiche continued to scan and compute, or whatever exactly it usually did when she asked it something.

"Contact Nanoha," she sighed. There goes my time with Caro and Erio.

"Sir, I am unable to contact Nanoha. Raising heart is not responding." Her device stated directly and she couldn't help but look down at it incredulously.

"Try Teana then." Her mind had blanked for a few seconds trying to figure out someone else to call.

A greenish screen popped up as the call was placed. The little bar at the top said connecting but nothing seemed to be happening. Fate tapped her finger against her leg impatiently, "what's taking so long?"

"Teana Lanster is barely in range of our communications. It will take several moments to contact her."

I was sure that it didn't take this long to talk to the girls when they were setting up our vacation…it only takes this long when I was out on missions and just coming back in range of Mid Childia. I should have noticed this sooner after all those times calling Nanoha…but what does that mean? Teana isn't at the team battle?

"Hello Fate-chan." One of her eyebrows perked up and a smile crept across her lips. "It's weird for you to call me like this…"

"Where are you?"

Teana's eyes popped open, "…I'm a few days away from base. Why? Is something wrong?"

There was no way she was at the team battle…and she'd be a little more stressed if she suddenly got teleported like I had.

"Nothing's wrong. Sorry to bother you Teana-chan." She bowed politely even though the other girl probably had no idea what she was doing with the tiny video feed she was getting.

"Ehhh?…Okay. I'll talk to you soon. Bye." She disconnected. Fate swore she heard some explicit mumbling just before she severed her end but that didn't matter at the moment.

"Bardiche did you detect any lost logia or anything else strange just before I got warped here." She remembered hearing a strange beep from the device during the battle. Nanoha was helping her up from the ground and something glowing appeared over her head.

"Yes sir. A Lost Logia fragment became active when Teana's blast radius came in contact with it."

"…and no one had any idea it was there before that?"

"Obviously…sir."

Fate grumbled and narrowed her eyes at the device. Hayate is never touching Bardiche again...

"Where is the Lost Logia fragment now?"

"Undetermined, however, it is most likely with the person whom it activated with."

"Contact Hayate," before she could get the last syllable out Hayate was already grinning at her.

"Fate-chan!" She was sitting at her desk with Rein on her shoulder. She clasped her hands in front of her and giggled.

"Can you contact Nanoha for me. I can't seem to get through…to…her." Hayate was giggling with a tiny smile on her lips. "What's so funny?"

"Is it cold where you are Fate-chan?"

"Yes…Why?"

"Oh nothing." Rein whispered something in Hayate's ear and Fate cringed. Hayate's smile became grinch like has she clasped her hands together and then pushed a couple of buttons on the screen.

"What are you doing?" A shiver ran it's way down Fate spine and she curled up defensively.

"Don't worry about it. It's nothHAHAHAHAHAHA…nothing I swear."

Fate shivered again. "So can you call Nanoha for me? I can't get a hold of her and…"

"Who?" Hayate pressed some buttons on her end, obviously bringing up some kind of database of contacts or something, because she stared into the screen intently.

"Nanoha…"

"Last name?" Hayate hit a few more buttons.

"Nevermind then…haha…I'll figure it out on my own."

"Oooookay if you say so. There's not a single Nanoha in here before you check. That's a Japanese name isn't it? I'm the only active person from Earth in the system right now…besides you…I'm not sure if you count as from Earth..." She leaned back in her chair and stroked her chin.

The blood was draining from Fate's face and she began to slowly descend. What happened to Nanoha?

"Nanoha is quite powerful sir. She is quite capable of taking care of herself. Do not worry." Fate smiled at her device.

"It pains me to tell you this," she closed her eyes in concentration, "you might want to put some clothes on before you go back to street level. Bye." Hayate gave a little wave.

Fate looked down at herself and then closed her eyes, a dark blush filling her cheeks. Her barrier jacket was shredded throughout, so much so, that she was naked from the waist up.

Fate sighed and then started flying toward her apartment just outside the base.

"Bardiche, I'm tired and this situation doesn't seem like it'll sort itself out so I'm going home for a nap and then in the morning, when I'm rested, I'll figure something out. If anyone calls, just tell them I'm busy."

"A sensible decision sir. Hayate-san is still connected should I disconnect her?"

Fate turned to see the little bluish green following after her. Hayate's face was so close to the screen, only her eyes could be seen leering out.

"Hmm…" Fate pushed the button to disconnect. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and rubbed her nose. I'm definitely going to regret calling her.

Everything was the same as she had left it, she thought, setting herself down by the side of their house. She walked around the corner and stopped. A huge black SUV was parked in their driveway. The kind of vehicle she imagined CIA or FBI using. She didn't like the look of that though.

"Maybe they just parked in our driveway for some reason," Fate said aloud opening the door. "I'm home." Why did I say that? Who do I expect to respond? If it were Nanoha I'd feel better, but if someone did answer I'd…

A little boy in a blue jumper walked out of the kitchen dragging a stuffed rabbit in his tiny hand. He rubbed his eyes a few times and then raised his hands in the air. Fate instinctively picked him up in her arms and rested him on her hip. He nuzzled his face into her chest, his dark purple hair tickling her nose.

Who are you? You remind me of someone but I don't know who it is…

"Mama, I love you." He put his arms around her neck and snuggled so tightly that she could feel his heart beating.

Oh f^ck…

"Hello honey. Supper is on its way. Me and Tebin just had a little nap…haha.." She could hear her heart thumping in her ears. Thump…thump…..thump….thump.

Fate followed the all to familiar voice into the living room and nearly dropped the child…she knew that purplish hair sticking up all over the place anywhere. She had lived with him long enough to know that. Thump…thump..thump, thump, thump. Chrono turned and looked at her.

Double f^ck…There was tightness in her chest and a tingling in her arm, but she decided to worry about that later.

"Oooh…What's this? He stood and held out his hands to both sides. "Tebin's getting more than Daddy's gotten in three months." Chrono walked towards her and Fate couldn't help but take a few steps back.

"Why are you all torn up?" Chrono took another few steps toward her and Fate again took a few steps back.

"Haha…you know…I had a little mock battle and the students got the best of me." She used the child to cover herself up the best she could.

"Let me put him to bed and then we can catch up with a shower together…unless you're hungry?" He held out his hands to take the boy, but Fate couldn't help but take a few more steps back until she was pressed hard against the outside wall.

"Hayate wanted to see me about something…I better go over there before she gets mad." She could feel her face burning red…Chrono's eyes weren't exactly aimed at her own. She fidgeted and finally gently gave Tebin to Chrono, carefully so as not to wake him.

"You just got back.." He realized he was yelling and stopped suddenly, not wanting to wake the child. "You just got back so why don't you just call her later. She'll definitely understand." He rocked his arms, singing gently, and started up the stairs. "At least change first if you insist on going."

Fate sighed and followed along. She couldn't help thinking, as she looked back at the living room, that everything was arranged just like when she and Nanoha lived there. The couch, the television, the bookcase, everything she could remember was in the same spots. There was even that red stain on the floor from when she dropped her wine glass that Christmas that Nanoha had …she blushed and even darker shade of red.

"He looks so cute when he's warn out and sleeping." He turned to look at Fate as he gently closed the door behind himself. "But you look AMAZING when you're worn out too…and your hairs all tangly hanging over the edge of the bed."

"I'm…I'm not really in the mood…maybe la…lat…" She couldn't say it; it felt too much like cheating.

He shrugged and then sighed in a long drawn out way. "I missed you, you know, when you're off gallivanting around for months at a time." Chrono looked down at the floor and then reached out to stroke her face (which would have been sweet if Fate hadn't taken a giant step backwards the moment he reached for her). "I go through a lot of tissues…"

Fate ran in the bedroom and locked the door. She didn't want to hear about that…did anyone really want to hear about that? What the hell happened to Ami-san?

She pulled open the closet and grabbed her enforcer uniform and quickly pulled it on, waves of relief washing over her knowing that at least her job was the same. Chrono was outside saying something disgusting so she jumped out the window.

"Ah…Fate-chan." Hayate peeked out the door. She was wearing her uniform without the jacket but with a pink frilly apron over it. She opened the door and waved her hand for her to enter.

Fate walked into the empty house. There wasn't a sound anywhere except for the pot bubbling off in the distance.

"Where are Signum and the others?" Fate asked looking around the immaculately clean house.

Hayate raised an eyebrow. "Other than Shamal, they're on a mission but why would they be here anyway?"

"B…but they came from your Book of Darkness…with Rein?"

"Fate are you sure you're okay? Your story's all mixed up…Don't you remember fighting them with me when they were taking linker cores for the book?" She stopped for a second and looked Fate up and down. "You don't look so good…you're all white and clammy…do you want me to call Shamal?"

"I'm fine really…I..just haven't eaten in a while…haha."

"Then stay for dinner. We haven't talked in a while you know?" A bubbling and steaming sound came from the kitchen and Hayate rushed off to take her pot off the boiler.

Fate walked over to the fireplace. There were more than a dozen pictures on the mantle in small frames. The most prominent was one of Hayate hugging Fate from behind; it was in a much larger and more expensive frame than the rest. Nearly all the pictures had Hayate and Fate in them. One had Hayate with her arms around a blushing Teana and a glowering Subaru and another was a class picture with her and some of her classmates…but there were none with Nanoha in them. A red ahoge peaked above the heads of her classmates in one shot…but who knows if it was hers.

"Come on Fate-chan!" Hayate set two bowls of soup onto her tiny table. "It's been so long since we've eater together like this," Hayate said motioning for Fate to take a seat.

Fate took the offered seat across from the smiling girl. The soup didn't exactly smell good but she had long ago decided not to judge food by their smells. Natto, if anything, thought her that. She dipped her spoon in the brownish liquid and scooped up some carrots and other vegetables, gingerly lifting it to her mouth.

"So...Chrono wants another child does he?" Fate coughed as the impact of the question slammed into her brain. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't do that when you're eating."

Hayate looked at her with concern. The coughing fit just kept going. Finally when she thought she would die, she finally caught her breath. Her throat was raw and she was sure a piece of molten carrot ended up in her lungs.

"That's why you came here the last time like this. Though you look more traumatized than excited…was giving birth to a handsome little boy that bad?"

Fate nearly choked again. She had taken another taste of the soup in an excuse not to speak.

"It's not that." Fate threw up her hands and waved them frantically.

Hayate took a deep breath and smiled, her shoulders slumping. "Thank God…I mean what did you want to talk about?"

Fate looked at the other girl questioning her with her eyes, but Hayate avoided her gaze.

"Maybe we can have a little sleepover. I bet I have a lot of movies you haven't seen." Hayate's stockinged foot touched Fate leg gently. Hayate smiled, sliding her foot up Fate's naked leg and then back down again. Fate blushed a little, and Hayate enjoyed it all the more because of it.

Fate thought for a second. I must have been transported to a parallel dimension. There have been cases in the past…but I didn't think one fragment of lost Logia could do that. One of her classes a long time ago had gone over being trapped in a parallel dimension and she remembered that one of the key guidelines was not to bring attention to yourself…it just made everything that much harder to do. Also, if you think you've switched places with the "you" of that dimension, it was important that you don't cause too much strive, since when things are fixed, they would be coming back to a life you ruined.

Fate rubbed the back of her head and lowered her eyes. "Umm I forgot. Sorry." She clasped her hands in front of her in a pleading way. How many times did Nanoha use this move on me?

Hayate sighed. "I never thought you were a airhead Fate-chan…Oh I almost forgot. Bardiche? Has Shari been fooling around with you?"

"Ma'am?"

"It seems I have ten gigabytes of high resolution holographic hippo porn…which is not exactly what I wanted when I video captured Fate's earlier transmission."

"Ma'am, as a security protocol, no video capturing is allowed."

"…But why did you change it to that of all things? I can't remember where I saved it and I have to take Rein to the technician tomorrow." Hayate pulled on her hair.

Fate quietly watched the two bicker. She had no idea what they were yelling at each other about. The soup was quite good. She took another taste.

"Hayate can I tell you something…"

"Anything…" Hayate leaned on her elbows and gazed into Fate's eyes.

Fate finished her little tale. She'd tried to give her as much information as possible since, if anyone could help her out of this situation, it would be Hayate Yagami.

Hayate was quiet now. She stirred her rapidly cooling soup with narrowed eyes. "Break-up with him if you don't love him."

"…that's not really the problem…"

"You said he came on to you and you didn't like it. I know Chrono can be a jerk but if he was forceful with you…why don't you just live with me?" She blushed.

"You're not listening to me."

"I've always listened to you. Every word. How many times did I sleep at your house and I'd listen to you talk about Chrono well into the morning?" She laid her head on the crook of her arm and looked off into the distance. "You used to always call me and tell me how your dates went, I'd be nearly asleep, but I'd listen. When you were pregnant with Chrono and I had paperwork up to my waist, I'd listen even though you were crying so hard I couldn't understand a word…"

"…"

"I love you Fate-chan." Hayate took Fate's in her own, gently intertwined their fingers.


Hopefully more soon to come! I hope you enjoy…and also please review if you have the time.